Long Beach area districts may shorten school year if Proposition 30 fails

LONG BEACH - Like struggling school districts across the state, some Long Beach area districts also are considering shortening the school year if Proposition 30 fails Tuesday.

Facing the possibly of a $35 million annual loss in state funding, the Long Beach Unified School District could see furlough days this school year and the next year depending on the outcome of next week's elections, according to district officials.

But unlike Los Angeles Unified, Long Beach officials won't make any decisions until after the election.

LBUSD spokesman Chris Eftychiou said the school board could vote to shorten this school year by as many as 20 days, which would count as furlough days.

"Our school board has not yet made a decision on these potential furlough days," Eftychiou wrote in an email. "Once the election is over, the board will consider the matter."

The cuts would come on top of the $22 million in program cuts already implemented this year and an overall $300 million reduction from the district's operating budget since 2008.

In addition to a shortened school year, the state's third- largest district is considering a grim list of proposals, including reducing or eliminating high school sports, closing multiple small schools, eliminating elementary music and art, eliminating librarians and counselors, increasing class sizes and more.

The ABC Unified School District is also waiting for the outcome of Prop. 30. The district, which represents the cities of Artesia, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens and portions of Lakewood, has reduced its budget by nearly $30 million in the past four years and could see another $8.8 million cut in funding.

In that worst-case scenario, the school district will consider shortening its school year and reducing a number of programs, including Adult School classes and bus transportation. The school district could also cut extracurricular activities including music and sports.

In the Paramount Unified School District, officials are anticipating a $9.2 million reduction in state funding if Prop. 30 fails.

The multimillion-dollar loss could mean employee layoffs, larger class sizes, and cuts to extracurricular programs such as art, music and sports.

Superintendent David Verdugo on the school district's website said the cuts would be devastating for the students and community.

"While this budget news is daunting, I continue to believe with the support from our employees and community, the District, and most importantly, our students will continue to succeed," he said.